Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble will release a new album on May 21st. The theme of the album is an expression of support - a call to remain strong despite the uncertain outlook for the future. The songs on the album mix strikingly with the rhythms of the Beninese voodoo tradition, afrobeat, jazz, soul and hip hop. Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble is an eight-member band led by Helsinki-based guitarist Janne Halonen and Beninian percussionist-singer Noël Saïzonou.
The songs on the new album were born during corona pandemic. It is a good-feel album that campaigns for the importance of human dignity so that it stays intact through difficult times. The record, which was mainly sung in Gounini, has been recorded in Finland, Benin and Portugal, mostly remotely.
The album was preceded by the single Min He Mon Ébgé - The One Who Sees Today. The song, released on Friday, May 7, has an enlightening theme - no one can know anything about tomorrow. It is important to take care of yourself in order to be able to do your own thing and treat others well.
The song also has a music video filmed in the barren city of Cotonou. Among other things, the video shows local creative artists who enrich the urban culture of Cotonou with their own art.
Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble was born in the winter of 2012, when the band's founder Janne Halonen, drummer Juha Räsänen and bassist Sampo Riskilä traveled as scholarship holders to the Finnish-African Cultural Center in Villa Karo, Benin. Indeed, the quartet was soon strengthened by four African musicians. The band's debut album Beaucoup de Piment! was released in 2013. Since then, the band has released the albums Fire, Sweat & Pastis (2014), The Road Is Long: Live at Savoy Theater (2016) and We Are Together (2018).
Helsinki-Cotonou Ensemble has received a wild reception at both domestic and foreign music festivals, and the band has done more than a hundred gigs in 17 countries. The new album will be released worldwide and will be distributed by Broken Silence.
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